In order to fabricate integrated circuits cost effectively, the yield of good integrated circuit chips must continually improve. Testing not only identifies defective or unreliable chips, but also provides failing chip data for analysis and root cause determination to make adjustments to chip design or fabrication process. Conventional failure analysis techniques are used to investigate root cause for specific failing chips. Failure analysis is a resource-intensive way to understand defect mechanisms and provide direction to design or manufacturing, often being expensive and time-consuming.
In addition, as technology, hardware, and software become more complex, new methods to better understand and quantify interactions between them and provide better integration are needed. These interactions pertain to yield and reliability, as well as efficient manufacturability and system operation.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art to provide methods that efficiently lead to yield, reliability, manufacturability, functionality, and system operation improvements that overcome the deficiencies and limitations described hereinabove.